Budget Statement

Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb Excerpts

Friday 12th March 2021 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (GP) [V]]

My Lords, I welcome the noble Lord, Lord Khan, and look forward to working with him on climate change—speaking of which, as a Green, I was intensely disappointed by the Government’s Budget. It is clear that they do not understand the climate emergency that we are facing, and they put in pathetic action on moving forward.

Green Party policy is that taxation, including a carbon tax, can incentivise the transition to a low-carbon economy while reducing inequality and supporting vital services. Corporation tax is one of the most powerful levers Governments can use to adjust the way the economy works. The argument about tax should not be about good and bad; tax should be used strategically to manage an economy for the common good. Allowing companies to avoid their tax responsibilities to pay for infrastructure and health and education services is short-sighted when they depend on those very services to function effectively. We would support a windfall tax for those companies that have seen profits spiral during the pandemic.

Our Budget proposals headline a range of environmental taxes that can provide incentives to speed up the transition to sustainability. The first and foremost is a high and rising carbon tax. We propose £100 now rising to £500 by 2030. It is a radical move, but one that reflects the existential climate crisis that we are facing and lives up to the climate rhetoric that, from the mouths of other politicians, turns out to be only hot air. Our carbon tax proposal is matched by a proposal to ensure that money is generated to compensate citizens as fossil fuel companies increase their prices to absorb the cost of the tax. We would use it to fund a universal basic income that would provide a safety net during the pandemic and after, which will be needed in the rocky times ahead. That is a Budget for a safe future.